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When parents think of lead poisoning, they instantly think of paint chips from lead-based paints. The truth is lead poisoning can also potentially come from lead dust, which can result from renovations. This can easily occur when lead-based paints are chipped, heated or sanded.

Lead dust can affect people from all backgrounds and income levels and according to the EPA, chances are if you live in a home built prior to 1978 you are at a higher risk due to previous years of lead-based paint products that may start to deteriorate which can create lead-contaminated dust….and think of this: typically, it’s the older homes that are the ones renovated the most.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, no safe lead blood level has been defined. The CDC, however, defines "lead poisoning" in children as a blood lead level of 5 micrograms per deciliter (μg/dL). To put this into perspective a grain of sand is roughly 25 micrograms.

Lead dust can occur in common areas such as: doors, window sills, walls, and porches. These areas need to be handled with extreme care as dusting and vacuuming only circulate the lead dust into the air.

Preventing lead dust during renovations can be achieved by creating barriers from the main living area and wet cleaning the areas once renovations have been done. Covering holes with contact paper until properly fixed is another technique to reduce lead dust. Disposable respirators rated for dust particles should also be used. If you are living in your home during renovations, it is important to wash hands, toys, or anything else that will come into contact with the mouth as lead dust can settle on many objects.

Ensure precautions are being taken for proper ventilation, but opening windows can cause lead dust to settle into the soil outside. When kids play in the yard, they can be exposed to lead dust.

You must consider the critical nature of fully protecting your family from lead and lead dust. Risk assessment and qualified technicians are better suited for jobs where lead-based items are present and the EPA has a guide to help you: Locate Certified Renovation and Lead Dust Sampling Technician Firms. Additionally, we wrote an article focusing on Addressing Childhood Lead Exposure which includes research and statistics on widespread cases of childhood lead poisoning which will be helpful for you to read as well.

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Do you live in a neighborhood with homes that were built before 1978? If you do, you may want to keep an eye open for renovation projects in neighboring homes. especially if you have young children.

There are strict laws about renovating homes containing lead paint. Are your neighbors following them? Lead paint liability recently became the focus of a lawsuit in Orleans Parish, New Orleans, Louisiana, when a couple with a young child complained that their neighbor's renovation covered their own property with white dust -- white dust containing lead paint, they say.

The defendant is accused of negligence for failing to address the lead paint on his property, failure to obtain a permit and various other counts. The plaintiffs are seeking damages because they say they were forced to dispose of some of their possessions, and their child is now being monitored for lead paint exposure. If he's found guilty, the suit could end up costing the defendant a great deal of money -- far more than it would have cost him to simply follow the law by obtaining permits and hiring a certified lead-based paint abatement contractor.

Following lead paint laws, obtaining permits and hiring a contractor who's been certified by the EPA to safely remove lead paint and lead paint debris, may at times feel like a hassle, but in the end it could save you from legal problems, financial liabilities and most importantly, eliminate the possibility of harming innocent children.

Lead Paint Liability: Durham Neighbors Discover Lead Paint in Yard

When you do a home renovation project, your lead paint liability goes beyond protecting your own home. Without careful planning, your project might end up getting into your neighbors houses and yards. This puts your project at risk for liability, and even worse, can create a serious health hazard for other families on your block.

Unfortunately, these health issues recently became a reality for neighbors in Durham, North Carolina. The trouble started innocently enough, when a house in the neighborhood got their property power washed. Unfortunately, the wash caused lead paint chips to fly from the home into nearby properties. Over six months later, the problem continues.

CBS interviewed nearby homeowners Holly Dwan and Tiffany Graves about the problem. Between the two of them, Dwan and Graves have seven children. Testing on both neighbors' properties shows elevated levels of lead paint in their yards, and in Graves' house, inside the front door. Dwan's daughter tested positive for lead poisoning, but not at the elevated level of 5 mg per deciliter that mandates state help.

In response to the inaction from their neighbors, Dwan and Graves brought their neighbors, Roderick Barbee and Carl Richardson, to court. The judge ordered Barbee and Richardson to fix the problem with their home and change renovation companies. Unfortunately, Dwan and Graves will have to pay for their own cleanup and can't start until the neighbors' house is cleaned up. As a result, they're fighting for regulations protecting the safety of homes in renovation projects.

With the right planning and action, you can prevent ending up similar situation, or take swift action. If you're planning a project in a home with lead paint, working with a cleanup company will help you cover or dispose of the paint in a way that's safe for everyone. In the neighbors' situation, a lead paint company removal company can make your yard safe again and help you advocate to local organizations.

Lead Paint News Stories: Cleveland, Flint, and Others Still Suffer from Lead Poisoning

The ongoing tragedy in Flint, Michigan continues to make headlines as politicians refuse to fulfill what is one of their most basic duties; making sure citizens have clean water. However, Flint isn't some fluke. It's not the exception that proves the rule. It's just the most visible American city dealing with elevated lead levels in their water, and in their population.

What happened is pretty clear, according to the coverage. In short, cities have stopped making lead a priority before all the contamination has been removed.

While we tend to think of lead in our paint, pipes, and other building materials as a problem of the past, it's still very much around. It was used for decades as the industry standard, and it's only within the past generation and change that lead has been phased out entirely. Unfortunately, cleaning lead up and getting rid of it is time-consuming, and expensive. As such, property owners, and even governments, have decided to leave the lead where it is. They'll get to it later, because if it just sits there it won't hurt anyone.

Fortunately, though, lead is being recognized as a serious threat once again. Governments, companies, and even private citizens have decided they've had enough of this heavy metal, and its toxic consequences. So, efforts to remove it completely, and safely, are becoming more common. If the efforts grow, it might even lead to a second wave of clearing, as old lead is stripped away, and properly disposed of where it won't harm future generations.

ECOBOND® is the nation’s leader in developing and distributing products that improve the protection of human health and safety from the hazards of lead in the home, workplace, and the environment. With over 15 years in patented and proven success, the ECOBOND® family of products have been extensively used in successfully treating lead hazards in over 11,000,000 tons of material while serving over 100,000 customers in the United States and Internationally.

LeadDefender® Provides Effective Lead Poisoning Prevention

Specialty LeadDefender® phosphates combine with lead dust/paint to create a lead-phosphate mineral that reduces the ability to absorb lead into the blood stream, thereby reducing relative lead bioavailability. (your specific results may vary)

According to the US EPA, the leading cause of childhood lead poisoning is lead paint exposure. Although there is national focus (US EPA, HUD) on reducing lead paint hazards, especially for children; with up to 80% of all structures in the United States containing lead based paint, it is not a problem that can be solved quickly. Historical lead hazard reduction methods, e.g. encapsulation and removal, can be costly and may use caustic chemicals.

Alternative methods for lead poisoning prevention and to limit the impact of lead on young children are needed.

LeadDefender® has invested significant resources in order to develop an effective and easy to use lead poisoning prevention product to seal and treat lead paint hazards, and reduce relative lead bioavailability (the ability of the body to absorb lead). This product, LeadDefender®, is based on the same LeadDefender® technology that has been used successfully for over a decade to treat lead and other metals in over 1,000,000 tons of solid waste. Independent testing performed to US EPA-approved procedures for relative bioavailability of lead confirmed in multiple testing that a standard coating application of LeadDefender® successfully reduced the bioavailability of lead-paint containing materials.(your specific results may vary) >>Read more

Effective Solutions for Typical Lead Paint Scenarios

A comprehensive scientific study was conducted by an independent laboratory, following US EPA test methods, to validate LeadDefender®’s 10 year marketplace proven ability to seal and treat lead paint hazards under a wide variety of uses including 1) All-in-One Primer and Topcoat, 2) Primer + Name Brand Latex Topcoat, 3) Primer + Standard Epoxy Encapsulant, 4) Sealant and Treatment Prior to Demolition and Disposal, 5) Prior to Disposal. This case study describes effective solutions for typical lead paint scenarios such as chipping/peeling paint, multiple layers of lead paint, interior/exterior, renovation, demolition… >> Read More

LeadDefender® Proven Successful in Treating Lead Dust and Lead Paint Safely and Economically

The City of Arvada required cost-effective, safe and responsible lead/lead dust treatment in order to decommission a lead contaminated industrial structure, a former indoor firing range. After reviewing standard approaches, the City was concerned about the potential for spreading lead dust to workers and the environment and began to search for new, more proactive approaches. >>Read More